FTX’s plan to buy South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb appears to have gone up in smoke, with billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried’s empire being rocked by a liquidity crisis, industry watchers said Thursday. Crypto exchange giant Binance’s announcement on Wednesday to back out of its plans to acquire FTX is likely to halt the ongoing deal between the Bahamian crypto exchange platform and Bithumb, according to experts. “Investors have been wary of the crypto market because of

Market Nov. 10, 2022

Chiefs of South Korea’s top banks are fast approaching the end of their current terms amid concerns of a looming debt crisis in the financial sector, sources said Wednesday. Starting with NH Financial Group Chairman Son Byung-hwan’s term ending next month, Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung and Woori Financial Group Chairman Son Tae-seung are inching towards the end of their current terms in March next year. CEOs of some banking giants’ flagship commercial lende

Market Nov. 9, 2022

South Korea’s state pension fund, the country’s main retirement plan, is in need of a major reform centered on cutting off excessive government intervention, an insider said Monday. Jeong Woo-yong, a member of the National Pension Service’s Fiduciary Liability Committee, pointed out that the fund’s key decision-making bodies consist of “too many” government officials and lack economic experts. This hinders the fund’s growth, as it increases the fund&rsq

Business Nov. 8, 2022

Restaurants, cafes and clubs in Seoul's popular nightlife district of Itaewon seemed to be on a smooth road to recovery at last after years of pandemic disruptions -- before Saturday. But now its hopes of revival have been set back again following a disastrous overnight crowd surge. The neighborhood -- once mainly the realm of expats and American soldiers -- has transformed into a culturally diverse and trendy area beloved by locals and visitors alike in recent years. Its “Brooklyn-type&r

Economy Oct. 30, 2022

Bowed heads, a mumbled apology and camera flashlights. The public apology issued last week by the head of South Korean food and beverage giant SPC was any businessperson's worst nightmare. Chairman Hur Young-in of the food and bakery giant apologized for the death of a 23-year-old worker who was crushed by a sauce mixing machine at a factory affiliated with SPC during an overnight shift. The chairman does not just face public humiliation and a nationwide boycott of his company’s product

Industry Oct. 30, 2022

The area around Itaewon in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul, full of excited Halloween partygoers on Saturday night, turned into a catastrophic scene in an instant. At least 153 people died and dozens were injured in a crowd crush that took place in a narrow alley near the neighborhood’s famous Hamilton Hotel. The celebratory scene quickly turned into a nightmare as screams and cries for help erupted from the crowd, and the sounds of ambulance sirens mixed with thumping music that continued to fl

Social Affairs Oct. 30, 2022

South Korean authorities are trying to contain a possible liquidity crunch from an overheated real estate project financing market, with Legoland Korea’s debt payment default rising adding to perceived risk levels. The total value of loans extended for the purpose of real estate project financing has rapidly grown, but the central bank’s aggressive rate hikes have increased borrowers’ debt repayment burdens. The rising costs of raw materials added to the worries. Finance Mini

Business Oct. 25, 2022

South Korea's exchange-traded funds combined market cap amounted to 75.5 trillion won ($52.6 billion) as of September, some 220 times larger than 344.4 billion won in October 2002, the latest data from the Korea Exchange showed. ETFs -- a type of pooled investment security that tracks a particular index, sector, commodity, or other assets, which can be traded on a stock exchange -- have managed to capture the attention of Korean investors in recent years. Twenty years ago, ETFs first landed in

Market Oct. 23, 2022

Humanity is entering a second era of the digital age, with the rise of new technologies such as blockchain and the virtual world. In its transition, new leaders will emerge, which could include South Korea, renowned tech visionary Don Tapscott said. “There’s no reason why one of the global centers can’t be Korea,” Tapscott, the executive chairman of Toronto-based Blockchain Research Institute, said Wednesday in Seoul pointing to this Asian country’s strength in rel

Technology Oct. 19, 2022

South Korea’s cryptocurrency exchange Upbit is set to replace its fast login service via KakaoTalk next month, while in damage control mode from the recent Kakao data center fire fiasco. Dunamu, the operator of Korea’s No.1 crypto exchange by trading volume, will end its login service via KakaoTalk, fully replacing it with its own login system from Nov. 21, the firm’s spokesperson said Tuesday. “The new service will be adopted on Oct. 31 and fully kick off on Nov. 21 af

Business Oct. 18, 2022

South Korea’s financial watchdog launched a probe into the overall contingency plan of Kakao’s financial arms and how they dealt with a service disruption over the weekend caused by a fire at a data center, officials said Monday. The Financial Supervisory Service requested Kakao Bank, Kakao Pay and Kakao Pay Securities to file a report on their hourly countermeasures against the server disruption that lasted more than 30 hours, on top of its existing contingency plan. The FSS noted

Business Oct. 17, 2022

South Korea’s retail investors on Sunday were grappling with the fear that the much-favored tech shares of Kakao and Naver might suffer another round of massive falls after their service malfunctions shocked the nation over the weekend. A fire broke out on Saturday at an SK C&C building housing data centers of the two internet giants and disrupted operations of their popular services, including messenger app KakaoTalk and taxi-hailing app Kakao T, for more than 10 hours. As of 2 p.m.

Business Oct. 16, 2022

Scandal-ridden biotechnology firm SillaJen’s shares surged by nearly 30 percent on Thursday a day after South Korea’s sole bourse operator decided to resume its trading on the secondary index. The firm's shares jumped nearly 30 percent from the previous closing to 10,850 won ($7.58), effectively ending its 29 months of suspension and quickly picking up speed from its opening price of 8,380 won. Though the closing price on the last trading day before its suspension -- May 4, 2020 --

Market Oct. 13, 2022

South Korea’s stock exchange decided Wednesday to resume trading of the troubled biotech company SillaJen, effectively ending a suspension of over two years to a divided response from the market.   The Korea Exchange’s Kosdaq market committee decided to keep SillaJen listed on the secondary, tech-heavy bourse in a decision that followed an hourslong meeting. It has yet to release a detailed explanation for  its decision, but a KRX official, requesting anonymity, told

Market Oct. 12, 2022

The head of South Korea’s financial watchdog pledged Tuesday that he will complete an inspection into the troubled funds and products that led to investors suffering hefty losses in recent years. The vow follows public criticism that the Financial Supervisory Service failed to screen and prevent fiascos including Ponzi schemes carried out by hedge funds and local financial institutions in recent years. The FSS has yet to decide on the reimbursement plans regarding the troubled 2019 German

Market Oct. 11, 2022